FIA jewellery clampdown backed by GPDA chairman

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FIA jewellery clampdown backed by GPDA chairman

The FIA has clamped down on a number of rules this year

GPFans Staff

Monday 16 May 2022 15:10 Updated: 07:46

Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman Alex Wurz has backed the FIA over its jewellery clampdown in F1 despite conceding he may have taken "a slightly different approach".

The FIA has taken a black-and-white stance to the F1 regulations having seen an increasing number of controversial grey areas being exposed in recent times.

This tightening of the regulations has, however, caused further controversy with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel both speaking out against clampdowns on the wearing of jewellery and non-compliant underwear, with the four-time world champion suggesting his former title rival was being targeted by the governing body.

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Speaking to Reuters, former Williams and McLaren driver Wurz explained: "It is a rule for the right reasons.

"I would have probably liked a slightly different approach of how to deliver the message.

"I don't want to end up in football where there are more hands in the air and verbal abuse...you have to work together. It's a style I would have preferred in this case."

Wurz 'educated' by painful lesson

Although jewellery and underwear may seem like trivial issues, Wurz recounted a conversation with former driver Kris Nissen as proof to the contrary - the Dane involved in a firey sportscar crash at Fuji in 1988.

"He showed his body and said 'look at this'," said Wurz.

"For him the absolute most painful thing after the fire, and it wasn't a long fire, was the rubber [elastic] in his normal pants being burnt into the skin. He said [it was] for years agony and pain, and it educated me.

"At this moment I said I don't want to live these consequences, only for [not] taking my pants off and putting fireproof underpants on. The same with jewellery."